Des Moines man fails in attempt to change murder case

The Iowa Court of Appeals has rejected the arguments from a Des Moines man convicted of killing his wife two years ago. Larry Westlund was convicted of first-degree murder for shooting his wife, Sheila, to death. When cops got to the couple’s Des Moines home, Westlund told them his wife had threatened him with a knife and that’s why he shot her. Cops, however, found the knife and gun on Westlund. He appealed his murder conviction, saying the trial judge should have allowed testimony from a doctor who concluded Westlund was “delusional and psychotic.” Westlund argued his mental state was relevant to proving he didn’t act with malice or premeditation, but the Appeals Court justices ruled the lower court was right to bar testimony about Westlund’s mental state, as Westlund wasn’t trying to use an insanity defense.